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The Cuvilliés Theatre in Munich, site of most of the separate performances

The separate performances for Ludwig II King of Bavaria were unique in the history of theatre. Plays and operas were performed for one person only, the King. His royal highness ordered mainly operas by Richard Wagner, German tragedies and French plays. Most of the performances took place in Munich. King Ludwig II was known as a shy person who did not like the attention of the public and so he excluded it.

Three times, twice in 1879 and once in 1883, the entire Ring of Nibelungen was performed for the king alone. Although Wagner wanted his last work, Parsifal, to be performed only and exclusively at his Bayreuth Festival Theatre, the king insisted upon separate performances in Munich and succeeded.

Ludwig II and the theatre

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Ludwig II just after his accession to the throne of Bavaria in 1864

Ludwig's interest in theater was by no means confined to his passion for Richard Wagner an his operas. In 1867, he appointed Karl von Perfall as Director of his new court theater. Ludwig wished to introduce Munich theater-goers to the best of European drama. Perfall, under Ludwig's supervision, introduced them to Shakespeare, Calderón, Mozart, Gluck, Ibsen, Weber, and many others. He also raised the standard of interpretation of Schiller, Molière, and Corneille.[1]

Between 1872 and 1885, the King had 209 private performances (Separatvorstellungen) given for himself alone or with a guest, in the two court theaters, the Cuvilliés Theatre and the Nationaltheater, both in Munich, comprising

  • 154 drama performances (the principal theme being plays on Bourbon France),
  • 44 opera performances (among them 28 dedicated to the work Wagner, including eight perrformances of Parsifal) and
  • 11 ballets.

The costs of these performances amounted to 97,300 marks.[2] This was not due so much to misanthropy but, as the King complained to the theatre actor-manager Ernst Possart: "I can get no sense of illusion in the theatre so long as people keep staring at me, and follow my every expression through their opera-glasses. I want to look myself, not to be a spectacle for the masses."

ungeklärt:

  • first opera on May 8, 1878
  • November 5, 1878

Drama

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King Ludwig II and Josef Kainz

Emil Rohde, Josef Kainz (1858–1910) und Franz Innozenz Nachbaur (1830–1903) waren jene drei unter den Münchner Bühnenkünstlern, die zu König Ludwig II. in engeren persönlichen Beziehungen standen.[5]

Didier/Kainz: Nach der Vorstellung erhielt der Schauspieler vom König einen mit Saphiren und Diamanten gefaßten Ring. (Böhm) 30.04. Nach dieser Vorstellung schenkte Ludwig II. dem Schauspieler Kainz eine goldene Kette mit einem Schwan. 04.05.Dieses Mal schenkte der König dem Schauspieler eine Uhr mit Diamanten. Hermine Bland, Viktoria Blank, Oberammergau

1878
1879
  • Brachvogel: Narziß — May 9
1880
1881
  • Victor Hugo: Marion de Lorme (1829) — April 30, May 4 and 10, 1881 (with Josef Kainz as Didier)
  • "Ehrgeiz und Königstreue". Kainz ist dabei Gast Ludwigs II. — May 6, 1881
  • Brachvogel: Narziß — May 9 Kainz ist dabei Gast Ludwigs II.
1882
1883
1884
1885
  • "Eine deutsche Fürstin" von G. Horn, in der Bearbeitung von Karl von Heil — April 28
  • Schiller: Wilhelm Tell — May 1
  • Victorien Sardou: Théodora (1884), mit Musik von Jules Massenet — May 5 and 10
  • Brachvogel: Narziß — May 9
  • Kalidasa: Urvasi, with music by Franz Grandauer — May 12

Opera

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King Ludwig II with Richard Wagner, at the piano

It has been said that Richard Wagner’s late career is part of Ludwig’s legacy, since the composer almost certainly would have been unable to complete his Meistersinger von Nürnberg and the tetralogy Der Ring des Nibelungen or to write his final opera, Parsifal, without the king’s support.

Ludwig II enabled the premiere of Tristan und Isolde in 1865 at the Munich Hofoper, he financed the Münchner Mustervorstellungen of Der fliegende Holländer (in 1864), of Lohengrin and Tannhäuser (both in 1867), and he sponsored the premieres of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in 1868. The world premieres of Das Rheingold (in 1869) and Die Walküre (in 1870) were ordered by the King, against the will of the composer, who wanted the tetralogy to be performed in its entirety at an especially built festival theatre for his endeavor. As the King spent enormous amounts of money on sponsoring the composer and enabling the costly stagings of his works he felt like the owner of these operas and ordered separate perfomances of all Wagner operas at his Munich theatre, even against the will of the composer. I.e. in the case of Parsifal, Wagner insisted on the exclusivity of Bayreuth. This work should only be performed at the Bayreuth Festival Theatre, which was mostly financed by Ludwig II and had been created by Wagner himself. The following operas of Richard Wagner were presented to the King in separate performances:

and, through his financial support of the Bayreuth Festival, those of Der Ring des Nibelungen and Parsifal.[6] Josephine Schefsky Therese Malten (Kundry), Max Brückner Settings

Ballet

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  • Venaus und Adonis oder Auf Schloß Bellevue with music by Max Zenger —April 27, 1881
  • Amor und Psyche with music by Max Zenger — May 5, 6 and 11, 1882
  • Sardanapal von Paul Taglioni — November 11, 1882
  • "Les plaisirs de l'ile enchantée" — November 12, 1883

Reception

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Mark Twain, Kainz letters,

See also

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Sources

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  • Hommel, Kurt: Die Separat-Vorstellungen vor König Ludwig II. von Bayern. Schauspiel Oper Ballett. München (Laokoon) 1963

The tempest

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The Tempest ist eine Oper nach Shakespeares Theaterstück Der Sturm komponiert von Thomas Adès zu Beginn des 21, Jahrhunderts. Das Libretto in englischer Sprache stammt von Meredith Oakes.

Die Uraufführung fand am 10. Februar 2004 am Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London statt. Es handelte sich um eine Koproduktion mit der Königlichen Oper von Kopenhagen und der Opéra national du Rhin in Strassburg.

Entstehungsgeschichte

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Following the success of Powder Her Face, The Royal Opera, Covent Garden, commissioned a new opera from Adès in the late 1990s. Working with a librettist, a poetic version of the Jonestown Massacre of 1978 was prepared, but the composer found it impossible to set it to music. Finally, the libretto he needed emerged from a collaboration with Meredith Oakes.

Meredith Oakes' libretto

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As for the words, you don't get Shakespeare's; but you get something that effectively suggests them at key moments, written by Meredith Oakes in rhyming couplets of impactful clarity. Neat and direct.

— Michael White's review of the 2004 Royal Opera House premiere in The Independent [7]

The opera is a brilliant response to the play, rather than merely a setting of it. While entirely true to the spirit of Shakespeare's play, it is not contained by it. It is its own thing, and allows its own existence and resonance.

— Jonathan Kent, director of the 2006 Santa Fe Opera production [8]

Looking for ideas for a new subject, Adès saw Jonathan Kent's staging of Shakespeare's The Tempest at the Almeida Theatre in London in 2000.[9] For a new libretto, Adès turned to the experienced dramatist Meredith Oakes, whose work had included a short opera libretto for Miss Treat (2002); since the early 1990s, several original plays, translations and adaptations of classics and modern dramas; and, for television, the story line for Prime Suspect 4 (1995).

Rather than transfer Shakespeare's words directly into the libretto, Oakes has taken the approach of reducing much of the text to its essence, and she produces a compact libretto with the bulk of the text presented in the form of rhyming couplets. Many examples are given in the following plot synopsis, and they illustrate Oakes' technique but that does not always mean the complete removal of Shakespeare's text, as in the following example.

The result is that the original:
Full fathom five thy father lies
Of his bones are coral made;
Those are pearls that were his eyes
 in the libretto becomes:
Five fathoms deep
Your father lies
Those are pearls
That were his eyes

Differences between the libretto and the play

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The libretto is structured into three acts, approximately equal in length. As in Shakespeare's act 1, scenes 1 and 2, the five main characters are introduced. However, as the relationship between Miranda and Ferdinand progresses, the opera turns away from Shakespeare's presentation of Prospero as the benign manipulator of events, the controller of the pace of the young couple's growing love by using his trickery and magical powers.

In an aside to Ariel he comments:

"They are both in either's pow'rs. But this swift business
I must uneasy make, lest too light winning
Make the prize light"

and later, as his methods begin to take effect: "It works". The libretto suggests a more fatalistic acceptance by Prospero of the loss of his daughter to the young Prince. Therefore, whereas Shakespeare's act 1 concludes with Prospero urging on Ariel to further tasks which involve bringing the court to his part of the island, Oakes' libretto suggests a more vengeful Prospero:

"I must punish him
And the rest as well
Bring me to them, Ariel".

Shakespeare's act 3, scene 2, in which Prospero accepts Ferdinand and Miranda's relationship, and later in act 4, scene 1, his:

"for I
Have given you here a third of mine own life

contrasts sharply with the end of Oakes' act 2 in which Miranda and Ferdinand find each other again and declare their love, as they are watched over by Prospero, who frees Ferdinand but laments his loss of power in:

"Miranda
I've lost her
I cannot rule their minds
My child has conquered me
A stronger power than mine
Has set the young man free".

Oakes' act 2 features action taking place on the stage in the presence of entire court rather than in separate scenes as in Shakespeare's act 2.

Synopsis

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Quotations below come from the published libretto by Meredith Oakes.[10]

Act 1

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Scene 1: The court

Using his magical powers, Prospero has created a huge storm during which the ship carrying his brother Antonio (who has usurped his position as Duke of Milan) along with King Alonso, Duke of Naples, Alonso's son Ferdinand, and their courts is wrecked. Offstage the court is heard.

Scene 2: Miranda and Prospero

Miranda is horrified at the destruction which her father has caused, but Prospero explains how his brother usurped his position and how they were cast away on a small boat twelve years before, surviving with only the help of a faithful courtier, Gonzalo. Prospero sends Miranda to sleep.

Scene 3: Ariel and Prospero

Ariel explains that she has carried out Prospero's orders, and he further instructs her to restore the shipwrecked group with "Not a hair perished/ On their clothes no blemish". "I'll clean them and dry them/ And set them on the island" she obeys.

Scene 4: Caliban and Prospero (Miranda asleep)

Caliban appears and immediately questions why Prospero has caused such distress. Prospero dismisses him – "Abhorrent slave/ Go to your cave" – as he recalls Ariel.

Scene 5: Prospero and Ariel (Miranda asleep)

Ariel tells Prospero that she has obeyed his commands. He then orders her to bring the King's son, Ferdinand, to this part of the island. While loyal to Prospero, Ariel questions when she will be freed from his service and she is assured that after twelve years, this will happen. The pair then hides, leaving Miranda sleeping on the beach.

Scene 6: Ferdinand and Miranda (with Prospero and Ariel unseen)

Ferdinand arrives on the island to find Miranda asleep. At first he thinks that she is a spirit and, as she wakes up, she wonders who he is: "I never saw/ Your like before". They are immediately attracted to each other, but Prospero appears, confronts Ferdinand, tells him of Alonso's deeds, and immobilizes the young man. Ferdinand declares his love for Miranda and accepts anything which Prospero will do to him, but Prospero declares him unworthy of Miranda and then orders Ariel to bring Alonso and his party to him.

Act 2

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Scene 1: The King, and the court on the island. (Prospero and Ariel are unseen)

The chorus is amazed at how they come through the storm and shipwreck so unscathed. From his hidden vantage point, Prospero orders Ariel to "Taunt them, haunt them/ Goad and tease/ Prick them, trick them/ Give them no peace". The king laments the loss of his son and Gonzalo attempts to comfort him, but Ariel's trickery begins and, impersonating the voices of the group to confuse them and divide them, they begin to squabble. Conflict is avoided by the arrival of Caliban.

Scene 2: Caliban with the court

They confront each other in amazement and soon Trincolo and Stefano begin to ply Caliban with drink. As Ariel's trickery continues, he assures the group not to be afraid, that "the island's full of noises" and explains his presence there, but, before he can reveal Prospero's name, he is silenced and leaves the group. Confused, the King and Gonzalo leave to search the island with Prospero working his magic to send them to "search/ Where there's no path/ Go in circles/ Drink the salt marsh".

Scene 3: Caliban, Stefano, and Trincolo

Briefly, they plot to restore Caliban to his former position as head of the island.

Scene 4: Ferdinand, Miranda, (and Prospero unseen)

The couple expresses their love for each other and Miranda frees Ferdinand leaving Prospero to accept the loss of his daughter: "Miranda/ I've lost her/ I cannot rule their minds/ My child has conquered me/ A stronger power than mine/ Has set the young man free".

Act 3

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Scene 1: Caliban, Trincolo, and Stefano all drunk

The trio cavorts across the island proclaiming the coming moment when Stefano will be King of the island and Caliban will be free.

Scene 2: Prospero and Ariel, followed by the arrival of the court

Ariel explains that she has led the court around the island and, once more, asks to be freed. The King and the court arrive exhausted and ready to collapse; quickly all but Antonio and Sebastian fall asleep. The two begin to plot to kill the King but are interrupted by the unseen Ariel's plea to the sleepers to wake up. Creating a banquet out of thin air, she just as quickly causes it to disappear and then leads the group away into further confusion. Prospero comments on his power over his enemies.

Scene 3: Miranda and Ferdinand, return to Prospero

The couple tells Prospero that they are married and Ariel arrives with her good wishes in addition to telling the young man that his father is actually alive. As he causes Ariel to vanish, Prospero announces that he is ending the magic: "Our revels are ended/ Why do you stare?/ He's melted into air/ So cities will perish/ Palaces vanish/ The globe itself/ Dissolve/ Nothing stay/ All will fade". Caliban, Trincolo and Stefano return, the former re-affirming his lust for Miranda with whom "We'll have Calibans/ Many and strong". In disgust, Prospero makes them disappear, Ariel re-appears and is promised her freedom within an hour.

Scene 4: Everyone except Caliban

Prospero reveals himself to the King and his court, and reveals Ferdinand and Miranda to Alonso. With the re-appearance of Stefano and Trincolo the court is joyously reunited; "Bless this isle/ Where Prospero found his dukedom/ Ferdinand his bride/ And Naples Ferdinand" says Gonzalo as all make their way to their restored ship. Prospero makes his peace with the King, forgives his brother, and breaks his staff as Ariel departs. Her voice is heard offstage.

Scene 5: Caliban alone, with Ariel offstage

Caliban stands alone on the island musing on the changes: "Who was here/ Have they disappeared?". Ariel's voice is heard off stage.

Thomas Adès' music

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Much has appeared in print about the striking music composed for this opera. Ranging from the almost dissonant (parts of act 1) to the sublimely lyrical (the Miranda–Ferdinand love duet, rare in modern operas, and a quintet passacaglia in act 3), with surges and outpourings of emotion contrasting with harmonic clashes of tone and color, The Tempest is regarded as the composer's towering achievement to date. This is reflected in the following writers' statements:

The evening deservedly belongs to Adès, who himself conducts a score as orchestrally lush and evocative as vocally varied and articulate. The cumulative effect is by turns ethereal, witty, incandescent, often ravishing.

— Andrew Clements, Review of the 2004 Royal Opera House premiere[11]

...For one composer at least, contemporary lyric opera is still a viable medium. It looks like an opera and it behaves like an opera, offering a musical drama in which the traditional operatic virtues of musically delineated characterisation and musically satisfactory dramatic pacing are wonderfully sustained.
The musical action of the opera is continuous but is divided into a sequence of sharply distinct scenes. The techniques of pitch derivation found in earlier Adès scores are used again, so that instead of providing his characters with a set of musical identity cards there is a fluid, evolutionary system of characterisation in which vocal manner and accompaniment style are more important than leitmotifs. Qualities of place and status are as important as individual personalities, so the island is represented by evenly flowing accompaniments in woodwind and strings, while the world of the Milan court is represented by more declamatory writing in which the brass are often evident.

— Christopher Fox, The Musical Times, London, [northern] Autumn 2004.[12]

Aufführungsgeschichte

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The new opera became a co-production with the Copenhagen Opera House and the Opéra national du Rhin in Strasbourg. The Tempest received its world premiere to critical acclaim at the Royal Opera House in London on 10 February 2004. Other productions followed in Strasbourg and Copenhagen later in 2005 and the opera was given its US premiere staging by the Santa Fe Opera on 29 July 2006.

Covent Garden revived the opera in March 2007 with the same production team, Thomas Adès conducting, and many of the original London cast, including Simon Keenlyside, Cyndia Sieden, Ian Bostridge, Toby Spence, Philip Langridge, and Stephen Richardson repeating their original roles. Cyndia Sieden is the only member of the cast to sing her role, that of Ariel in all four previous productions. Amongst others new to the cast are soprano Kate Royal as Miranda and countertenor David Cordier as Trinculo.

As a co-production with the 2012 Québec City Opera Festival created by director Robert Lepage[13] and the Vienna State Opera (June 2015),[14] New York's Metropolitan Opera mounted a new production of The Tempest in the autumn of 2012 featuring Simon Keenlyside.

Roles

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Role Voice type Uraufführung
Royal Opera House
10. Februar 2004 		Amerikanische Erstaufführung
Santa Fe Opera
29. Juli 2006 		Koproduktion
Quebec, New York, Wien

<br

Miranda, Prospero's daughter mezzo-soprano Christine Rice Patricia Risley Stephanie Houtzeel
Prospero, rightful Duke of Milan baritone Simon Keenlyside Rod Gilfry Adrian Eröd
Ariel, a spirit coloratura soprano Cyndia Sieden Cyndia Sieden Audrey Luna
Caliban, a savage tenor Ian Bostridge William Ferguson Thomas Ebenstein
Ferdinand, son of King Alonso tenor Toby Spence Toby Spence Pavel Kolgatin
Stefano, a drunken butler bass-baritone Stephen Richardson Wilbur Pauley Dan Paul Dumitrescu
Trinculo, a jester countertenor Lawrence Zazzo David Hansen David Daniels
Antonio, Prospero's brother tenor John Daszak Derek Taylor Jason Bridges
Sebastian, King Alonso's brother baritone Christopher Maltman Keith Phares David Pershall
Gonzalo, an honest councilor bass-baritone Gwynne Howell Gwynne Howell Sorin Coliban
Alonso, King of Naples tenor Philip Langridge Chris Merritt Herbert Lippert
Chorus: Guests of King Alonso
Dirigent Thomas Adès Alan Gilbert
Regie Robert Lepage
Bühnenbild Jasmine Catudal
Kostüme Kym Barrett


Recordings

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  • The BBC broadcast The Tempest on 23 June 2007 from the Covent Garden revival [15] and a commercial recording featuring Bostridge, Keenlyside, Sieden and Royal was released by EMI Classics in June 2009.
  • The Metropolitan Opera production from 2012, conducted by Adès, was issued on DVD by DG. Prospero: Simon Keenlyside; Ariel: Audrey Luna; Caliban: Alan Oke; Miranda: Isabel Leonard; Ferdinand: Alek Shrader; King of Naples: William Burden; Antonio: Tony Spence; Stefano: Kevin Burdette; Trinculo: Iestyn Davies; Sebastian: Christopher Feigum; Gonzalo: John Del Carlo. The production was by Robert Lepage.

Critical reactions to UK and US premieres

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London premiere production reviews, 2004:

American premiere production reviews, 2006:

London revival production reviews, 2007:

References

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Notes

  1. ^ Rall, Petzet and Merta (2001) King Ludwig II
  2. ^ See Hommel, Kurt. Die Separatvorstellungen vor König Ludwig II. von Bayern (Munich, 1963)
  3. ^ The precise dates were: Das Rheingold (April 22, November 3), Die Walküre (April 24, November 4), Siegfried (April 26, November 5) and Die Götterdämmerung (April 29, November 7).
  4. ^ The precise dates were: Das Rheingold (April 30), Die Walküre (May 1), Siegfried (May 2) and Die Götterdämmerung (May 4).
  5. ^ The precise dates were May, 3, 5 and 7 as well as November 5 and 7 in in 1884 and April [20], 26, 27 and 29 in 1885.
  6. ^ See Detta & Michael Petzet 1970, passim
  7. ^ Michael White, "The Tempest, Royal Opera House, London: A triumph for Britain's brightest and best", The Independent, London, 11 February 2004
  8. ^ The Santa Fe Opera 2006 Program Book, p. 94
  9. ^ Kent interviewed by Craig Smith in "Shipwrecked on a desert isle", The Santa Fe New Mexican, 28 July – 3 August 2006
  10. ^ Oakes, Meredith, The Tempest: An Opera in Three Acts, London: Faber Music Ltd, 2004 ISBN 0-571-52337-4
  11. ^ Andrew Clements, The Guardian, 12 February 2004
  12. ^ Christopher Fox, "Tempestuous Times: the Recent Music of Thomas Adès", The Musical Times, London, [northern] Autumn 2004
  13. ^ Québec City Opera Festival website
  14. ^ http://www.wiener-staatsoper.at/Content.Node/home/spielplan/Spielplandetail.php?eventid=1401057
  15. ^ Radio Times, 23–29 June 2007.

Other sources

  • Braun, William R., "Its Charms Crack Not", Opera News (New York), October 2012. (A detailed analysis of the musical structure of the opera)


XCategory:Operas XCategory:Operas by Thomas Adès XCategory:2004 operas XCategory:English-language operas XCategory:Opera world premieres at the Royal Opera House XCategory:Operas based on The Tempest

Paraflows

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Paraflows Das Festival für digitale Kunst und Kulturen findet seit 2006 jedes Jahr im September statt. Es bietet Ausstellungen, Symposien, Workshops, Filmreihen und Konzerte.

paraflows versteht sich als Plattform für die junge, lokale Szene der digitalen Kunst und Kulturen und fungiert als Schnittstelle zu internationalen Projekten. Das Festival widmet sich thematisch jährlich einem wechselnden Schwerpunkt. Der Schwerpunkt 2014 lautet "INTIMACY".

paraflows wird unterstützt von der Kulturabteilung (MA 7) , dem Bundesministerium für Kunst und Kultur (BMUKK), dem EU Culture Programme (EACEA) und der Wirtschaftsagentur Wien - Zentrum für Innovation und Technologie.

Schwerpunkte, Ausschnitte

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Urban Hacking kommt auch ohne Anwesenheit von Akteuren aus. Für die Kunstausstellung paraflows 09 wurde beispielsweise ein programmierbarer Rasenmäher entwickelt, der jegliche Vektorgrafiken mit Hilfe eines Bunsenbrenners in Wiesen zeichnen kann. Während der Ausstellung wurde der Karlsplatz in Wien mit Gähnlauten beschallt um das schnelle Ausbreiten eines Virus zu symbolisieren (Gähnreflex).

2010 Sylvia Eckermann„paraflows.7 - Reverse Engineering“[1]

Vom 12. September bis 12. Oktober 2013 fand in Wien das Festival unter dem Thema Open Culture statt, widmete sich in einer umfassenden Werkschau, begleitet von einem Symposion und einer Konzertreihe, dem Thema der OPEN CULTURE, umfasste eine Mehrzahl heterogener Konzepte, die sich nicht ausschließlich auf die digitale Kultur reduzieren ließen: unter anderem das Konzept der Open-Source-Bewegung, der Open-Access-Gedanke und dem Kampf gegen regressive Copyrights.

Menschen dahinter

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Ins Leben gerufen wurde Paraflows im Jahre 2006 von Günther Friesinger, der P. nach wie vor leitet.

Er wird inhaltlich und organisatorisch unterstützt von:

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Einzelnachweise

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  1. ^ Christof Habres: „Künstler als Forscher“, in: Wiener Zeitung, 19. September 2012
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